The present disclosure relates to a sheet storing cassette for storing a recording medium in sheet form such as sheets, for use in copiers, printers, facsimile machines, and multifunction peripherals incorporating their functions, and also relates to image forming apparatuses provided with a sheet storing cassette.
In conventionally common image forming apparatuses, a sheet feeding cassette for storing a plurality of sheets is drawably provided in a bottom portion of the apparatus main body. Such an image forming apparatus, with a separating-conveying means comprising a pick-up roller and the like arranged above the sheet feeding cassette, sends out sheets stored in the sheet feeding cassette one sheet after another and conveys them to an image forming portion and a fixing portion with a conveying roller to form an image on each sheet.
In the sheet feeding cassette, there are arranged cursor members comprising a width aligning cursor for positioning sheets in the width direction and a rear end cursor for positioning sheets in the sheet feeding direction. By moving these cursor members according to the size of stacked sheets, the user positions sheets at a predetermined position (sheet feeding position) in the sheet feeding cassette. Here, if the cursor member moves after sheets are positioned, the sheets may shift from the sheet feeding position, and a sheet feeding failure such as a skewed sheet or a missed sheet may occur.
Thus, there have been proposed methods for preventing unintended movement of the cursor member. For example, in one known sheet feeding cassette, there are provided a sheet stacking plate that is pivotable about a pivot as the center, a movable cursor for aligning the sheets placed on the sheet stacking plate, and a cursor lever with a locking portion for locking the movement of the cursor, and when the cursor lever is tilted toward the moving direction of the cursor, the cursor is unlocked.